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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. — Eric J. Barron, the president of Florida State University and a
nationally known climatologist, was named yesterday as the president of Penn State University,
which has spent the past year trying to find a new leader in the wake of the 2011 Jerry Sandusky
child sex-abuse scandal.

In selecting Barron, a former professor and dean at Penn State, the university will get an
effective fundraiser who worked to widen FSU’s donor base, sought to mend fences with legendary
football coach Bobby Bowden after his firing in 2009, and worked to improve the finances of the
school’s athletic department.

Barron has been praised for his efforts to boost FSU’s research standing. At the same time, he
has shown he is comfortable running a school where football is paramount.

Barron, 62, who is scheduled to take over at Penn State by May, will receive salary and other
compensation that could total $6 million over the five years of his contract.

Former President Graham Spanier and two other former high-ranking Penn State officials are
facing trial on charges that they were part of a cover-up related to the scandal.